Basically, PII is any information that can be used to distinguish or trace a specific individual, to pick that person out of a group. PII involves information that is linked or linkable to a specific individual. So, if it’s possible to link information to an individual, this information would be considered PII.
KEY-POINT: Information is considered PII even if it has not yet been linked to that individual.
What information is considered PII?
- Social security number
- Home address
- Email address
- Internet logins
- Date of Birth
- Full name
- Passport number
- Credit card number
- Driver’s license number
How does PII apply to insurance?
Whenever the agent comes in contact with personal information of a client or a potential client, the agent becomes responsible for properly storing it. The agent is not allowed to share PII, without the expressed request from the client to do so.
If the PII storage gets compromised, the agent musty notify the client of this breach. Here’s an example of Privacy Incident Scenarios.
KEY-POINT: An agent or broker may collect, use, or disclose PII only to the extent necessary to carry out their required job functions.
KEY POINT: The client has the right to access, amend, correct, substitute, or delete their PII, according to the applicable federal and state laws.
KEY-POINT: If an agent becomes exposed to the client’s Federal Tax Information (FTI), the agent also becomes subject to the tax return preparer rules, created by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).
Here’s an example of PII standards, as it applies to the Federally-Facilitated health marketplace: HERE
What are insurance agent’s responsibilities with PII?
Agents and brokers must ensure that consumers’ personally identifiable information (PII) is protected with reasonable safeguards, ensuring three (3) main categories:
- Confidentiality – protecting information from unauthorized disclosure
- Integrity – defending PII from malicious, unauthorized users to ensure accessibility by authorized users
- Availability – assuring the reliability and accuracy of information
Insurance professionals must prevent unauthorized or inappropriate access, use, or disclosure of the PII. Each agent and broker is also responsible for ensuring that members of its workforce who have a need for consumer PII to perform their duties strictly follow these safeguards.